O c T O B E r 1 3 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M
3
"Our goal-line stand was as good as it
gets, and then we give it to them with a
penalty," Franklin lamented.
All told, the Lions were penalized six
times for 41 yards. They also turned the
ball over on their first drive and were for-
tunate not to lose it on two other occa-
sions. Johnson fumbled in the first half,
but the officials ruled that his forward
progress had been stopped, ending the
play. Later, Sanders was ruled down on a
run during which the ball appeared to be
squirting loose before his knee hit the
turf. That play was not reviewed.
• Penn State lost backup defensive
tackle Fred Hansard to a leg injury in the
second quarter. Hansard had to be helped
slowly off the field and into the locker
room. Franklin never elaborates on in-
juries, but it looked as though Hansard
might not be back for a while. The
coaching staff has been desperate to
build depth in the middle of its defensive
front – hence Thorpe's move from the
offensive line a few weeks ago – so losing
a second-teamer for an extended period
would be a significant setback, especially
with games against Iowa, Michigan and
Wisconsin coming up.
LOOKING AHEAD
Penn State's next two opponents faced
off on Saturday, as Iowa thrashed Indi-
ana,
42-16. The Lions will travel to
Bloomington to face the Hoosiers this
coming Saturday, and they'll be
looking to get their passing attack
back in sync against a defense
that allowed Nate Stanley to
throw for 320 yards and six
touchdowns.
Iowa looked as though it will be
a formidable challenge when it
visits Beaver Stadium in two
weeks, as it racked up 479 yards
of total offense. But Franklin
doesn't want his team thinking too far
ahead, and now that the league champi-
onship is pretty much off the table, it's
probably for the best that the Lions are
accustomed to focusing on their imme-
diate challenges rather than fixating on
the big picture. Right now, that challenge
is the Hoosiers, and they'll be happy to
extend Penn State's losing streak if they
get the chance.
A NEW WAY
TO ACCESS
POSTGAME
COVERAGE
Starting this season, Blue White Il-
lustrated's postgame coverage will
be available via bwi.rivals.com. All
of our game stories, including the
story above on Saturday's last-
minute loss to Michigan State, can
now be accessed from the website.
The change in format allows us to
bring readers more gameday cover-
age than ever before: game recaps,
player features, notebooks, high-
lights and lowlights, game grades
and recruiting news. To find BWI's
postgame coverage, visit the links
below:
HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS
GAME GRADES
FEATURE STORIES
STATISTICS
Miles
Sanders
scores on a
48-yard run
late in the
second
quarter.
Photo by
Steve
Manuel
